Boxing Day sales rally bargain hunters across the city

With Christmas over for another year, the holidays shifted to another seasonal tradition – Boxing Day.

Thousands of shoppers made their way to some of the city’s more popular stores in order to cash in on the holiday savings. Some even skipped breakfast to make sure they arrived in time to get their desired purchase.

That’s what Ruben Lups did when he arrived at Future Shop early Monday morning. Skipping the meal paid off as Lups walked out of the store with a brand new video game.  Lups, from the Netherlands, said he’s never gone Boxing Day shopping before.

“I knew what I was looking for but roaming around was crazy,” Lups said. “This is my first Boxing Day ever. I came (to Canada) in May and I just wanted to experience it a little bit. It’s actually fun so maybe I will be a Boxing Day buyer.”

In the New Year, Lups said he hoped to have his citizenship papers filled out and have a job as a teacher in Thunder Bay.

Shane Kay also fought his way through the large crowds in order to find some hot item electronics and came away with a new Blu-ray player. He said he wasn’t a big Boxing Day shopper because of all the people.

“I’m just not into the hustle and bustle,” Kay said. “I’m not too sure what the big deals are in town but I guess TVs are a big thing.”

Kay said he had a good Christmas and got many clothes, money and gift cards and planned to spend New Year’s Eve at a friend’s camp.
Future Shop General Manager Don Nadon said by 10 a.m. nearly a thousand people had come through the store. The store opened at 6 a.m. but many people were lined up out front waiting in anticipation, he said.

“Things are going fantastic today,” Nadon said. “Boxing Day is one of those days were we throw out a lot of sales out. There’s a lot of door crashers and a lot of hype.”

Things were just as busy over at Intercity Shopping Centre. The mall was crowded with shoppers looking for a sale.

Shannon Kasstan spent the shopping day with her two friends Cassidy Corness and Whitney Sandberg and kept a sharp eye out for any deals on clothes. Shannon said she wasn’t a big Boxing Day shopper but wanted to take advantage of the sales.

Cassidy said going to the mall for 10 a.m. was the earliest they ever went shopping.

“This was the earliest,” Cassidy said. “We planned on getting up at 7 a.m. but it didn’t happen.”